Photo credit: Isabella Boedeker

CREATIVITY IN CRISIS | The former Creative Writing classroom sits empty since the course is not running during the 2023-2024 school year. English department chair Kristen Alles has empathy for the students who weren’t able to take the class, and wishes for its return future. “Having a class solely dedicated to Creative Writing is fun and I think it really helps foster that for students who really like Creative Writing,” Alles said. “I do feel bad for students who really want that [creative] outlet and art, but hopefully we can see it again maybe next year hopefully it’s not cut for good.”

Last spring, the Grosse Pointe Public Schools School Board implemented a budget cut that drastically reduced North’s full-time equivalent (FTE) by 5.1. As a result, certain course offerings had to be removed for the 2023-2024 school year. Along with that, student interest in certain courses has diminished. Despite the cut of 17 courses, Principal Dr. Kate Murray hopes they will be able to return in the future.

Unfortunately, the absence of courses has been considered a disadvantage for many students. The reduction of these classes is holding students back from opportunities and learning experiences, according to Murray. 

“Our students’ transcripts won’t be as varied,” Murray said. “They won’t have as much access perhaps to the classes and passions that they love, and they might not have some of the more advanced classes that only run one time per day.” 

With the budget cuts, Explorations in Reading and Expository Writing were removed from the English course offerings. The elimination of these courses will negatively impact the students who need the extra assistance and practice, in the opinion of Advanced Placement English Language and Composition teacher Kristen Alles. As a result, Alles emphasizes that she may need to take a different approach to teaching her AP Language students.

“I think the lack of the class will affect some of our students, particularly ones who maybe needed a little bit more support or maybe struggled a little bit with Honors American Literature or even perhaps came from traditional American Literature and wanted the challenge into AP,” Alles said. “I think Mr.Byrne and I might have to scaffold the lessons maybe a little bit more. I think we will try to pay attention even more to our students who might be struggling.”

In contrast, some classes simply couldn’t run due to the lack of class enrollment. Junior Ashlei Anatalio-Williams was upset when she wasn’t able to take AP French after numerous years of practicing the language. 

“I feel kind of disappointed since I’ve been taking French since sixth grade, and the opportunity to take AP French 5 was taken right away when I was about to take it,” Anatalio-Williams said.

Also, some students are worried about whether these classes will remain cut next year. For sophomore Katie McLeod, she is anxious about whether or not she can take AP French next year to earn her college credit.

“I would feel very sad because I have been taking French since I was in sixth grade,” McLeod said. “So, it’s just become a norm in my school schedule and I want to be able to finish that out into an AP credit.”

Moreover, these significant adjustments have also affected the teachers’ day-to-day schedules. Dr. Murray states that many teachers have to instruct more classes than normal, which can become mentally draining for educators. 

“When you start to run fewer sections of each course that means each teacher has to teach more courses,” Murray said. “So sometimes teachers, only in the past, would teach two different classes during the span of the day and now we have more and more teachers teaching three to four to five different classes.”

Even though North’s students and teachers have been faced with adversity, our counselors have worked to accommodate their students’ schedules. Junior Ashlei Anatalio-Williams successfully found two-semester courses to replace AP French.

“Computer Graphics is fun so far and a nice break from my other classes,” Anatlio-Williams said. “I’m excited to take Anthropology next semester because it seems interesting.”